First published in 1925, W. Somerset Maugham's novel, The Painted Veil under the adaptive screen pen of Ron Nyswaner and the direction of John Curran, becomes the tale of a spoiled, young English woman named Kitty (Naomi Watts) whose parents will do nearly anything to get her expeditiously married off to the 'right' man and, therefore, self-sufficient. Enter a young bacteriologist and civil servant named Dr. Walter Fane (Edward Norton) presently stationed in Shanghai, briefly in London, with a no-time-like-the-present timetable in which to find a suitable wife as he must return swiftly to his post abroad.

An open invitation from Kitty's father to visit their home any time, lands Walter the opportunity to spot Kitty and fall into love at first sight. Kitty and Walter are quickly married and off to Shaghai, before Kitty is able to fully comprehend the dull life and stoic, while heroic and well-meaning husband she has acquired. Within weeks of relocation, she strikes up an affair with a married, English diplomat named Charlie Townsend (Live Schreiber), provoking the last straw in Walter's 'wait and see approach' to their marriage. Giving her two alternatives: join him in a cholera ravaged region of rural China where he has volunteered to serve as the region's doctor after the town's medical contingency falls victim to the epidemic or accept his immediate request for divorce on the grounds of her adulterous behavior. She had thought him too preoccupied with his work to notice her plight and then her subsequent rebirth in the arms of Charlie, alas he caught on to her duplicitous ways in no time.

" The Painted Veil stands out among great films such as The English Patient and Out of Africa…Culturally and historically powerful, the film's screenplay and story take on epic proportions yielding a timeless love story"

When Charlie indicates he has no intention of leaving his wife for her, she has no real social option but to accompany Walter on a 14-day trip via train and sette chair to reach what would become her new home. Worse, it is all too clear that her once-smitten husband loathes her very presence and may have elected this post hoping that she might too succumb to the indiscriminate disease and die. Once relocated, an Englishman stationed in the region named Waddington (Toby Jones) introduces them to their new lifestyle and the local military leadership put in place by the national government to help control the spread of the disease, Colonel Yu (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang). Meanwhile, the rise of nationalism in China is a continuing threat to the presence of all foreigners including those there to do good will. Kitty is assigned a personal military escort to watch over her and protect her as she moves about the region. As the toll of the outbreak wreaks havoc, Walter becomes more and more focused on finding the source of the bacterial outbreak and less and less on any interactions with Kitty forcing her into a well of isolation. It is not until she visits a convent of six French nuns who oversee an orphanage and the hospital where her husband works, that Kitty starts to take on a new outlook on her own increasingly pointless life and the selfless, dutiful, brave, and humble man she married. Will she be able to discover her own virtues and reclaim the heart of the man who once loved her with all his heart?

While set in a spectacular region of China known for beautiful mountains, the signs of the epidemic and the horrible spread of death loom largely casting a net of gloom over the entire area. Culturally and historically powerful, the film's screenplay and story take on epic proportions yielding a timeless love story about two people, worlds apart emotionally, who are given an opportunity under incredibly adverse mental, physical, and social conditions to discover the true meaning of love and the good in each other. Edward Norton's understated performance pales in comparison to his role as The Illusionist; yet, as usual, he breathes incredible life into an otherwise inwardly focused character. Naomi Watts, however, steals the film. Really, this is a story about Kitty, not Walter, and Ms Watts illuminates the role. She begins as a girl unable to see her own reflection and evolves into a radiant, determined, charismatic, energetic woman willing to take risks, push her limits, and emerge not only a better person, but a woman who truly can be self-sufficient. John Curran has created an outstanding film that, while tragic much of the time, is also liberating. He understands the history well, and the results of his labors should thrill fans of period pieces. In her stunning and insightful portrayal of Kitty Fane, Naomi Watts may well have eclipsed the great Gretta Garbo who played the similar role in the 1934 film version of the story, and has positioned herself as a worthy leading lady (even without a gargantuan gorilla sidekick) and one of the top actresses of her generation. She and Norton fulfill the film's tag line, "Sometimes the greatest journey is the distance between two people."

The film has a tragic ending with a bittersweet conclusion that shows how truly far Kitty Fane has come in her evolution as a modern woman. She had thought the idea of arranged marriage positively pre-historic; and, in the end, discovered much more than she bargained for. The Painted Veil stands out among great films such as The English Patient and Out of Africa in their featuring of incredible love stories that survive the test of time. With splendor and grandeur, though, The Painted Veil details a bit more of the personal journey of the female protagonist providing greater insight into her transformation than the others. It would be a tragedy for this film to be overlooked this year as Academy Award® voters begin their nomination considerations. At the very least, Naomi Watts deserves a long, hard look as does the film.

W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel, The Painted Veil, under the adaptive screen pen of Ron Nyswaner and direction of John Curran, becomes the tale of a spoiled, young woman, Kitty (Naomi Watts), who expeditiously marries a young bacteriologist, Dr. Walter Fane, (Edward Norton) to escape her parents. The couple fulfills Walter's post at a government hospital in Shanghai before Kitty comprehends the dull life she acquired. An affair with married, English diplomat Charlie Townsend (Live Schreiber) provokes Walter to volunteer to serve in a cholera-infected, rural region and take her with him. Here Kitty must develop a new outlook on her own increasingly pointless life and the selfless, dutiful, and humble man she married. In her stunning and insightful portrayal, Watts may well have eclipsed the great Gretta Garbo who played the similar role in the 1934 film version proving herself a dynamic leading lady in this Oscar® worthy production.